Tire-supporting device for tire-molds



Patnld July 12, 1921.

` A. H. HARRIS. TIRE SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR TIRE MOLDS.

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UNITED STATES PATENT or-rica.

ARCHER n. mais, or BARBERTON, omo, AssIGNoa or ONE-HALF 'ro :avm

Anusrnone. or AxaoN, omo.

TIRE-SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR TIRE-HOLDS.

'spense-ati@ of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1921.

' Application nica mcemter 9.1920. seria; piana.'

To all whom. 'it 'may concern.'

Be it known that LARGHER H. HARRIS, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Barberton, in the county of Summit and lState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Supporting Devices for Tire-Molds, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of cord tires for vehicle` wheels it is the usual practice to build raw rubber and cord ply upon ply on a collapsible core, and then to remove the core from, and to insertan air bag in the hollow tire structure thus producedl A two-part bull ring, so-called, of proper formation to receive and-support the basal beads of the tire is then applied to the latter and the whole is placed in a suitable mold which `is introduced inthe vulcanizing apparatus.' The air bag is inflated to expand the tire tol the full sizeof the mold, and the tire thus l the tire'is distorted and ruined before its vulcanzation. Moreover, much care, at the expense of considerable time, is required to apply the bull-ring sections to the tire.

lie object of my invention is to eliminate the trouble just mentioned incident to the use of sectional bull-rings; and to that end I provide a unitaryvring of novel construction that can be readily and effectually ap-v plied to the raw tire preparatory to the inrtroduction of the latter in the moldwhich rin may be used independently o or in congunction with, a sectional bull-rmg, as

, desired. 45 l The invention also comprises features of construction and operation which will be hereinafter described and claimed. y

Figure 1 is a transverse section of a portion cfa mold structure containing a cord tire equipped with an internal inflatable bag and with a two-part bull-ring of ordinary construction, the basal bulges of the beads, when the tire is in a raw state before the application of the ring thereto, being indilatter in the mold 10. The ring cated by dotted lines within the ring sec-` tion s.

Fig. 2 asimilar-section of a mold con- `taining a tire, and adjuncts, equipped with 'a bead-supporting ring embodying my invention.

Fig. 3y is a side elevation, on a smaller scale, of my improved ring. j

Fig. 4 is a cross-section through one side of the ring, as on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 2, but showing my novel ring combined with a two-part bull-ri Referring to designatesv the two annular parts of a tire mold structure, and 11 designates a tire of the cord type contained therein,.said tire havin the usual annular basal beads 12.

13 designates the two sections of an ordinary 'bull-ring which is applied to the underside of the tirev so as to embrace ,and support the beads, and 14 designates the air-bag which is contained in the tire and is adapted to be iniiated to expand the raw tube fully ,within the mold. i

As previously mentioned the annular beads of the tire are reatively thicker in the raw than in the vulcanized state, such greater thickness as respects the underside of the beads being indicated by the dotted linesat 15 in Fig. 1; and since the sections of the bull-ring must be applied with great force'to the said beads in opposite directions to each other from the respective sides of the tire, it frequentl occurs that the fabric of the tire is buckle or displaced, in which case the tire is ruined before vulcanization.

According to my invention I providey a. v

unitary basal rin of `-the character shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 an 5; which ring is ap lied to the raw tire before the insertion o the thus associated with the tire 'and contained in the mold structure is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. This ring comprises a metal body 16 having formed.' thereon, at its respective edges, two circumferential flanges 1'( which Aare spaced-a it correspondingly with the annular bead?, 12 of the tire, whereby when the ring is applied to the raw tire, as hereinafter described, the bases and outer sides of the respective beads 12 are effectually supported; The bodyv 16 has also preferably formed therein, intermediate the flanges 17, a circumferential groove 18 which affords a ig. 1 of the drawings, 10

retaining seat )for the air-bag 14 contained within the tire. The body 16 is also pro"- vided at a suitable point with an aperture 19 for the passage of the .usual air-conducting[` pipe to the air-bag.

he ring above described is split throughl `at one point, as at 20, so that the ring may 'of displacing or distorting the layers of fabric com rising the tire, is effectually obviated.' hen the 'ring is thus applied Vit supports the raw tire in annular form, and the whole is then inserted in the mold structure preparatory to the forming and vulcanizing operations, which structure is appropriatel shaped and recessed to embrace and hold t e ring, as shown. To remove the supporting ring from the vulcanized .tire'it is merely necessary to contract the ring and Withdraw it laterally from the tire.

From the foregoing it will beseen that the application to the raw tire of the unitary split ring embodying my invention can be rapidly and accurately accomplished; whereas the application of the previous bull-ring construction is a tedious and troublesome operation.

As illustrated in Fig. may be used in conjunction with a two-part bull-ring 13, which is appropriately shaped to embrace the former; the mold parts -in t the split ring 16k such case being constructed to receive the bull-ring. 1

1. The combination with a mold structure v for tires of rubber and cord construction having basal annular beads, of a bead-'supporting ring adapted'to be associated with and to form a separable part of the said structure, said ring comprising a unitary spacebetween the beads, the said body andv its anges being split to permit contraction and expansion of the ring.

3. The herein described beadsupporting ring for use in the manufacture of tires coniposed of plies of rubber and cord, said rin comprising a unitary body having -spac circumferential bead-engaging flanges, said body including its flanges being split to permit contraction and expansion of the ring,-

Signed at Cleveland, in the county' of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, thisf2 day of December, A. D. 1920. y

ARCHER H. HARRIS. 

